One Face of Liberation: Buddhist Feminism in Japan
Gereon Kopf
30 October 2017
The Zen-inspired activism of Hiratsuka Raichō
Buddhism in Japan introduces the histories, practices, and beliefs of various Buddhist schools, thinkers, and practitioners in Japan. It explores popular as well as little known faces of Buddhism in Japan through the reflections on texts, explorations of religious sites, and encounters with practitioners.
Primarily authored by Gereon Kopf, a Professor in the religion department at Luther College, Iowa, USA and the founding editor of the Journal of Buddhist Philosophy.
Buddhism in Japan is published bi-monthly.
Who Am I — Self-discovery in Japanese Zen Practice
Gereon Kopf
26 May 2017
The Japanese Zen master Dōgen (1200–53) famously said, “To study the Buddha way is to study the self.”* A popular meditation manual known and used
Samurai and Monks: Lessons in Impermanence
Gereon Kopf
24 March 2017
In the last few weeks, I have been teaching the Tale of Heike (Heike monogatari) to my students at Luther College. The Tale of Heike is central to Japanese
Why Meditate?
Gereon Kopf
27 January 2017
Whenever I teach Japanese Buddhism, whether in the Americas, Europe, or East Asia, I frequently run into the same assumption among students that Buddhists, for
Does a Philosopher Have Buddha-nature?
Gereon Kopf
4 November 2016
In my previous article,* I introduced a method of reading Japanese Buddhist texts, especially writings by the Japanese Zen master Dōgen (1200–53).** Here, I would
How to Read Japanese Buddhist Texts?
Gereon Kopf
9 September 2016
In this article, I would like to reflect on how to read Japanese Buddhist texts. To explain my strategies for approaching texts distant in time,
Spirituality as the Transformation of Daily Life: Living Buddhism in 21st Century Japan
Gereon Kopf
20 May 2016
A 2008 article in The New York Times asked the provocative question whether Buddhism in Japan “may be dying out” (Onishi 2008). Unlike other, frequent claims that
How to Face Death – Pilgrimages and Death Rituals in Japanese Buddhism
Gereon Kopf
15 January 2016
I discussed pilgrimages in Japan in an earlier article on this website.* This month, I am teaching a course in Japan that involves visits to
Drinking Tea—Meeting the Buddha
Gereon Kopf
18 September 2015
Many package tours to Japan include a tea ceremony. Sometimes these short versions of a traditional tea ceremony––otemae or cha no yu ––take place in the tea room
Shinto: The Way of, to, and with the Gods!
Gereon Kopf
19 June 2015
Travelers to Japan notice the impressive gates that mark Shinto shrines, in Japanese, torii, as well as the shimenawa, referring to a type of rope made from
Humility, Faith, and Other-Power: Shinran’s “Tannisho”
Gereon Kopf
20 March 2015
The so-called sectarianism of Buddhism in Japan has enabled Pure Land Buddhism to develop as a quasi-independent tradition within Buddhism. One of the central figures
Walking with Kukai–Becoming a Buddha: Pilgrimage in Shingon Buddhism
Gereon Kopf
30 January 2015
Since the Meiji restoration in the 19th century, Buddhism in Japan has seen the development of a third category of practitioner in addition to the